Two things. Okay, three.
1. In two years, I will have had my first gen X3 for TEN years. Doesn't seem like that long. It's held up without a hiccup.
2. I was surprised after I switched for fun to firmware 2.1 and back to 3.4 that my "existing playlist" was retained in firmware 3.4. That was cool.
3. I bought FiiO's FD1 earbuds, and they sound excellent with the X3 with firmware 3.4. (Playing FLAC, bass 2 and treble 0). And they're very comfortable. I'd never had those loop-over-the-ear style earbuds. They're 32 ohm, only $60.